Production History

Mainstage Play Series

The cornerstone of ACT’s mission, Mainstage plays are the world-class productions that the community has come to expect each year since ACT was founded in 1965. Fully produced, and featuring amazing design value, directing, and acting from local and national artists, Mainstage plays are most often staged in our larger theatres, The Allen and The Falls. ACT’s Mainstage productions include both world premieres and the new generations of contemporary classics.

2017Tribes by Nina RaineMurder for Two by Joe Kinosian & Kellen Blair | Lyrics by Kellen Blair, Music by Joe KinosianThe Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew LopezAlex & Aris by Moby Pomerance (World Premiere)King of the Yees by Lauren YeeThe Crucible by Arthur Miller

2016Assassins | Book by John Weidman, Music and Lyrics by Stephen SondheimStupid F#@*ing Bird by Aaron PosnerThe Mystery of Love & Sex by Bathsheba DoranDaisy by Sean Devine (World Premiere)The Royale by Marco RamirezDangerous Liaisons by Christopher Hampton

2015Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris| Concept & English lyrics byEric Blau and Mort Shuman | MusicbyJacques BrelCat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee WilliamsThreesome by Yussef El Guindi (World Premiere)Hold These Truths by Jeanne SakataBloomsday by Steven Dietz (World Premiere)Mr. Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn | Score by Michael Friedman | Lyrics by Anne Washburn

2014Little Shop of Horrors I Book and Lyrics by Howard Ashman; Music by Alan MenkenBethany by Laura MarksThe Price by Arthur Miller
An Evening of One Acts:Patter for a Floating Lady by Steve Martin I Riverside Drive by Woody Allen I The Unseen Hand by Sam ShepardThe Invisible Hand by Ayad AkhtarVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang

2013Grey Gardens I Book by Doug Wright; Music by Scott Frankel; Lyrics by Michael KorieAssisted Living by Katie Forgette (World Premiere)Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin BaitzRapture, Blister, Burn by Gina GionfriddoMiddletown by Will EnoSugar Daddies by Alan Ayckbourn (American Premiere)

2012
First Date: A New Musical IBook by Austin Winsberg I Music & Lyrics by Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner
(World Premiere)
The Pitmen Painters by Lee HallOne Slight Hitch by Lewis BlackThe Pinter Festival plays by Harold PinterUncle Ho to Uncle Sam by Trieu Tran and Robert Egan (World Premiere)Ramayana by Yussef El Guindi and Stephanie Timm, with the Affiliate Artist Working Group (World Premiere)

2011Vanities: A New Musical | Music & lyrics by David Kirshenbaum | Book by Jack HeifnerThe Prisoner of Second Avenue by Neil SimonPilgrims Musa and Sheri in the New World by Yussef El Guindi (World Premiere)In the Next Room, or the vibrator play by Sarah RuhlMary Stewart by Friedrich Schiller | In a new version by Peter OswaldDouble Indemnity Adapted by David Pichette and R. Hamilton Wright | Based on the book by James M. Cain | Co-Produced with San Jose Repertory Theatre (World Premiere)

2010The Trip to Bountiful by Horton FooteThe Female of the Species by Joanna Murray-SmithYankee Tavern by Steven DietzThe Lady With All the Answers by David RamboThe Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh

2009Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey HatcherBelow the Belt by Richard Dresserthe break/s: a mixtape for stage by Marc Bamunthi Joseph (The Hansberry Project)Das Barbecü book and lyrics by Jim LuigsRunt of the Litter written and performed by Bo EasonRock ‘n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard

2007The Clean House by Sarah RuhlSouvenir by Stephen TemperleyStuff Happens by David HareFirst Class by David Wagoner (World Premiere)The Mojo and the Sayso by Aishah Rahman (by The Hansberry Project)The Women by Clare Boothe Luce

2006The Pillowman by Martin McDonaghMiss Witherspoon by Christopher DurangWine in the Wilderness by Alice Childress (by The Hansberry Project)Mitzi’s Abortion by Elizabeth Heffron (World Premiere)A Number by Caryl ChurchillThe Underpants by Steve Martin

2005Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses (West Coast Premiere)The Ugly American by Mike Daisey (World Premiere)Born Yesterday by Garson KaninThe Night of the Iguana by Tennessee WilliamsVincent in Brixton by Nicholas WrightFlight by Charlayne Woodard

2001Big Love by Charles L. Mee (West Coast Premiere)Dinner with Friends by Donald MarguliesPolish Joke by David Ives (World Premiere)Waiting to Be Invited by S.M. Shephard-MassatA Little Night Music by Stephen SondheimGrand Magic by Eduardo de Filippo

1998Thunder Knocking on the Door by Keith GloverDeath of a Salesman by Arthur MillerCollected Stories by Donald MarguliesScent of the Roses by Lisette Lecat Ross (World Premiere)The Summer Moon by John Olive (World Premiere)Quills by Doug WrightViolet by Jeanine Tesori

1997The Notebook of Trigorin by Tennessee WilliamsThe Nina Variations by Steven DietzRoom Service by John Murray and Allen BoretzGoing to St. Ives by Lee Blessing (World Premiere)Blues for an Alabama Sky by Pearl CleageOld Wicked Songs by Jon MaransThe Big Slam by Bill Corbett

1995The Gospel at Colonus by Lee Breuer and Bob TelsonHospitality by Allan HavisHanding Down the Names by Steven Dietz (World Premiere)Later Life by A.R. GurneyTea by Velina Hasu HoustonThe Language of Flowers by Edit Villarreal (World Premiere)

1994Betty the Yeti by Jon KleinGray’s Anatomy by Jim Leonard, Jr. (World Premiere)Keely and Du by Jane MartinMan of the Moment by Alan AyckbournFish Head Soup by Philip Kan GotandaVoices in the Dark by John Pielmeier (World Premiere)

1993The Red and the Black by Jon Klein (World Premiere)The Cover of Life by R.T. RobinsonLonely Planet by Steven DietzLife During Wartime by Keith ReddinAgnes Smedley: Our American Friend by Doris Baizley (World Premiere)Dreams From a Summer House by Alan Ayckbourn and John Pattison

1992Trust by Steven Dietz (World Premiere)Shadowlands by William NicholsonThe Revengers’ Comedies (Parts I and II) by Alan AyckbournEleemosynary by Lee BlessingSunsets and Glories by Peter Barnes

1991My Children! My Africa! by Athol FugardThe Illusion by Tony KushnerTears of Rage by Doris Baizley (World Premiere)Our Country’s Good by Timberlake WertenbakerWilli: An Evening of Wilderness and Spirit by John Pielmeier (World Premiere)Halcyon Days by Steven Dietz (World Premiere)

1990An American Comedy by Richard NelsonLloyd’s Prayer by Kevin KlingA Normal Life by Erik Brogger (World Premiere)Born in the RSA by Barney Simon and The Market Theatre CompanyFour Our Fathers by Jon KleinHapgood by Tom Stoppard

1989The Downside by Richard DresserBreaking the Silence by Stephen PoliakoffA Walk in the Woods by Lee BlessingRed Noses by Peter BarnesHappenstance by Steven Dietz and Eric Bain Peltoniemi (World Premiere)Woman in Mind by Alan Ayckbourn

1988Merrily We Roll Along by Stephen Sondheim and George FurthMrs. California by Doris BaizleyA Chorus of Disapproval by Alan AyckbournGod’s Country by Steven Dietz (World Premiere)Principia Scriptoriae by Richard NelsonThe Voice of the Prairie by John Olive

1987March of the Falsettos by William FinnA Lie of the Mind by Sam ShepardThe Diary of a Scoundrel by Erik BroggerThe Marriage of Bette and Boo by Christopher DurangGlengarry Glen Ross by David MametBiloxi Blues by Neil Simon

1986On the Razzle by Tom StoppardPainting Churches by Tina HoweTales from Hollywood by Christopher HamptonBrighton Beach Memoirs by Neil SimonThe Jail Diary of Albie Sachs by David EdgarLittle Shop of Horrors by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken

1985King Lear by William ShakespeareTrue West by Sam ShepardMaydays by David EdgarOther Places by Harold PinterEnd of the World by Arthur KopitQuartermaine’s Terms by Simon Gray

1983The Dresser by Ronald HarwoodThe Dining Room by A.R. GurneyCrimes of the Heart by Beth HenleyEducating Rita by Willy RussellA Soldier’s Play by Charles FullerCloud 9 by Caryl Churchill

1982Da by Hugh LeonardFridays by Andrew JohnsWaiting for the Parade by John MurrellThe Gin Game by D.L. CoburnThe Greeks: The War (Part 1) by John Barton and Kenneth CavanderThe Greeks: The Gods (Part 2) by John Barton and Kenneth Cavander

1981Custer by Robert E. InghamGetting Out by Marsha NormanBilly Bishop Goes to War by John Gray with Eric PetersonNight and Day by Tom StoppardLoose Ends by Michael WellerWhose Life Is It, Anyway? by Brian Clark

1980For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf by Ntozake ShangeCatholics by Brian Moore (World Premiere)Artichoke by Joanna GlassWings by Arthur KopitBuried Child by Sam ShepardStarting Here, Starting Now by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire

1979Man and Superman by George Bernard ShawFanshen by David HareOtherwise Engaged by Simon GrayHoly Ghosts by Romulus LinneyThe Water Engine by David MametThe Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt

1977As You Like It by William ShakespeareTravesties by Tom StoppardLadyhouse Blues by Kevin O’MorrisonStreamers by David RabeThe Club by Eve MerriamAbsurd Person Singular by Alan Ayckbourn

1976Sizwe Bansi Is Dead by Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston NtshonaThe Time of Your Life by William SaroyanScapino by Frank Dunlop and Jim DaleDesire Under the Elms by Eugene O’NeillRelatively Speaking by Alan AyckbournBoccaccio by Kenneth Cavander

1975Sleuth by Anthony SchafferThe Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui by Bertolt BrechtWhen You Comin’ Back, Red Rider? by Mark MedoffQuiet Caravans by Barry Dinerman (World Premiere)Of Mice and Men by John SteinbeckOh Coward! by Roderick Cook

1974The Hot L Baltimore by Lanford WilsonTwigs by George FurthA Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsCount Dracula by Ted TillerIn Celebration by David StoreyThe Chairs/The Bald Soprano by Eugene IonescoGodspell by Stephen Schwarts and John Michael Tebelak

1973No Place to Be Somebody by Charles CordoneOld Times by Harold PinterOne Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Dale WassermanThe Contractor by David StoreyA Conflict of Interest by Jay BroadA Day in the Death of Joe Egg by Peter NicholsThe Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter by Ben Bagley

1972The Me Nobody Knows by Gary William Friedman and Will HoltWhat the Butler Saw by Joe OrtonThe Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul ZindelEchoes by N. Richard Nash (World Premiere)The Trial of the Catonsville Nine by Fr. Daniel BerriganMoonchildren by Michael WellerButterflies Are Free by Leonard Gershe

1971Hadrian VII by Peter LukeThe Boys in the Band by Mart CrowleyThe Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence and Robert LeeCeremonies in Dark Old Men by Lonne Elder IIIPlaza Suite by Neil SimonA Cry of Players by William GibsonYou’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown by Clark Gesner and John Gordon

1970The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter and The Balcony by Jean GenetRosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom StoppardThe Caucasian Chalk Circle by Bertolt BrechtThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Jay Presson AllenEndgame by Samuel BeckettYour Own Thing by Hal Hester and Danny Apolinar

1969Celebration by Tom Jones and Harvey SchmidtThe Homecoming by Harold PinterRhinoceros by Eugene IonescoInadmissible Evidence by John OsborneMarat-Sade by Peter WeissPhiladelphia, Here I Come by Brian FrielCrabdance by Beverley Simons (World Premiere)

1968Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by William HanleyEh? by Henry LivingsRoyal Hunt of the Sun by Peter ShafferThe Lion in Winter by James GoldmanBlack Comedy by Peter Shaffer and Captain Fantastick Meets the Ectomorph by Barry PritchardA Delicate Balance by Edward AlbeeWaiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

1967Luv by Murray SchisgalThe Deputy by Rolf HochhuthOut at Sea/Striptease by Slawomir MrozekAfter the Fall by Arthur MillerThe Great Divide by William Vaughn MoodyThe Fantasticks by Tom Jones and Harvey SchmidtThe Caretaker by Harold Pinter

1965Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mama’s Hung You in the Closet and I’m Feeling So Sad by Arthur KopitCat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee WilliamsWho’ll Save the Plowboy? by Frank GilroyDark of the Moon by H. Richardson and William BerneyThe Private Ear/The Public Eye by Peter Shaffer

ACTLab

ACTLab is a curated partnership program that fills our multi theatre venue with innovative theatrical experiences off the path traveled by the mainstage. By forming financial and artistic partnership. ACTLab serves as Seattle’s incubator for individual artist and theatre companies to experiment, grow, and reach new audiences by cultivating new ideas and experimentation in a collaborate environment.